RPIRG News & Events

It has been one week since Gerald Stanley was found not guilty in the killing of 22 year old Colten Boushie last August. One week since a murderer walked free of any responsibility for taking a young man’s life.

We want to publicly state that we stand with Colten’s family and community as they continue their fight for justice, just as we stand with the families and communities of other young Indigenous people who have been taken, mistreated, ignored, and denied participation in and closure by the colonial justice system.

As young people and as students there is much we can do to take action and make change; to push for more justice and better futures for ourselves and our peers. For non-Indigenous students in particular, we have countless opportunities and a heavy obligation to take the knowledge we have access to here in university back to our families and communities. We need to avail ourselves of each and every resource here on campus to increase our understandings of Indigenous cultures, histories, and relationships to settler governments; we need to learn to decolonize our minds and hearts, and to take those learnings with us to our roles in the workforce, in the community, and in our families. In the wake of this trial and verdict, it has become clear that our settler communities need help to find empathy, understanding, and compassion for Indigenous struggles, and it is up to us non-Indigenous young people to undertake that work.

For Indigenous youth, we understand that this verdict and the vitriol surrounding it is but another in a constant stream of reminders that Canada does not see your worth or your strength. That we as a society have failed to value and respect you as you deserve to be. But we, as your peers here on the University of Regina campus and young folks in Saskatchewan, want you to know that we see and acknowledge your worth, your resilience, and your resistance. We know that your lives matter, and we stand with you against the colonial systems which continue to take your lives, mistreat you, ignore you, and actively deny your participation and leadership.

To compliment the University of Regina’s hosting of the 2018 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, UR Pride Centre for Sexuality and Gender Diversity, and the Regina Public Interest Research Group (RPIRG) are excited to be hosting Community Congress; a complimentary event that prioritizes the knowledge and voices of non-professional academics interested in making academia accessible and creating dialogue about barriers that exist in academia for meaningful participation of all knowledge-holders.

Community Congress will take place from May 27th – June 1st 2018.

Community Congress is, in no way, affiliated with the 2018 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences.

To find out more about the Community Congress and/or to submit a proposal for an event or presentation you would like us to include, please visit the UR Pride Community Congress Page.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, we will no longer be able to provide ASL interpretation for our panel discussion tomorrow afternoon. We apologize for the short notice on this, and any inconvenience this may cause.

We had been very much looking forward to incorporating this into our programming, we recognize how important it is to design our spaces to include as many people as possible. Unfortunately, the interpreter available sustained an injury and can no longer join us. We wish her a speedy recovery!

This was our first time utilizing the services of Saskatchewan Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services, and through the process we learned just how hard it is to access ASL interpretation in Saskatchewan because there is so little infrastructure, and such a shortage of certified interpreters.

We are hoping to be able to work with Saskatchewan Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services again in the future – they have been wonderful to talk to and plan with, and we encourage groups or organizations to reach out to them if you’re considering the same. The more visible these services are, the more they become normalized and expected in community spaces. RPIRG is dedicated to continuing to make our programs accessible, safe, and welcoming to everyone in our community.

Karen Nurkowski from Saskatchewan Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services (SDHHS) will be providing ASL interpretation for this panel. The moderator will ask the prepared questions below, and at approximately 4:30 we will have a 20 minute public Q&A session.

Maysa Haque is a Masters student in the University of Regina’s Department of Religious Studies. She recently completed a Bachelors of Arts & Science at McMaster University, where she studied young Canadian Muslim women’s perceptions and experiences of menstruation. Her academic and activist interests include Islam, feminism and gender-inclusive religious movements. She also loves cats.

Cam Fraser, the minister at Knox Metropolitan United Church, is interested in churches moving beyond acts of charity to resisting, critiquing, and opposing systems of injustice (many of which churches have lamentably been part of creating). Cam is currently working on a Masters exploring radical readings of the Christian tradition ‘from the edges’ that challenge the church’s own complicity in empire and oppression. Cam definitively does not believe in a literal hell (with flames or pitchforks) or that gay people (or anyone else) would go there if there was one. When it comes to God, Cam is fairly convinced that she does not favour Christians over any other group of humans (and may in fact often find them kind of frustrating).

Gagan Deep Singh is an Electrical Engineer by profession. He completed his Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering from India. He was admitted to Masters program at the University of Saskatchewan and is currently working as a Senior Engineer. Mr. Singh is from the Sikh faith and has been active in the community performing various roles. He is the recipient of Spiritual Service Award from the Regina Multi-Faith Forum. He has been a President of provincial organization called Multi-Faith Saskatchewan and also acted as a Chairperson of Regina Multi-Faith Forum. Currently, he is serving these organizations as a board member. He has been involved in various projects at the community level to promote mutual understanding among faith groups through education and awareness.

The Panel will be hosted by Risa Payant, the Executive Director of Common Weal Community Arts and an all around awesome community minded person who originally asked us to tackle this topic at Apathy Into Action. Risa is curious about the relationship between religion and social justice, particularly in cases where religion seems to be historically counter to progressive movements. She is excited to explore the topic of social, economic, and environmental justice through the lense of faith and religion.

Risa’s questions will be as follows (or based on these):

1) How does your faith and/or religion inform your approaches to justice issues in your community and globally? Is there a specific event or movement that has called you to action?

2) What opportunities does faith and/or religion present for self care and community care in building sustainable justice movements?

3) How can non-religious activists and organizers work across communities to support solidarity and build movements that are inclusive of all faiths and religions?

4) How has your faith/religious community’s relationship to social justice evolved or changed in recent times? How do you see it evolving now?

Generating Momentum is an activist leadership training camp for youth between the ages of 18-35. The camp is focused on educating, training, and organizing around social and environmental justice issues, and giving youth the tools to make meaningful change in their communities. The camp discusses the interconnectedness of social, economic, ecologic, or global justice issues through topics such as, sexuality, gender, allyship, decolonization, and environmental justice. The camp also fosters the practical skills, knowledge, education, and networking opportunities necessary for participants to make a difference in their local communities and around the world.

Generating Momentum will run for four days, from August 23-26th, 2018, and will take place at Arlington Beach Camp (Last Mountain Lake, SK). Over the past 7 years the camp has run, around 50-70 participants have travelled from around Saskatchewan each year to attend.

This year’s Apathy into Action Social Justice Conference will take place January 19th and 20th @ the RIC Atrium on the University of Regina main campus. Please see this link for details about our venue. If you have any questions you may contact Julian at outreach@rpirg.org.

Friday January 19:

Bernadette Wagner is a multi-genre writer, editor, and community-based organizer. Her work has appeared on many platforms. Bernadette is nearing completion of a mixed-genre manuscript about uranium and its human implications. Her research took her to Canada’s role in the development of Little Boy, the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, as well as to some other global hotspots. Join Bernadette to explore Saskatchewan’s role in the industry through poetry and creative nonfiction.

11:30am – “Colonialism No More” w/ Prescott Demas & Michelle Stewart

In the spring of 2016 activists in Regina set up a tent city occupation outside the regional office of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC), calling themselves the Colonialism No More Solidarity Camp. Expecting to be there for 24 hours, they ended up staying for four months. This session will focus on current projects and campaigns that Colonialism No More is working on including dismantling white supremacy in public spaces and challenging racialized and militarised policing practices. This Session will be hosted by Prescott Demas and Michelle Stewart who have been involved with Colonialism No More since the 2016 camp.

FREE PIZZA LUNCH PROVIDED

1:30pm – “Fat Feminism” w/ Mia Bell

Mia Bell is a student at the University of Regina, completing her studies in psychology and visual arts. She is a fat feminist and fat activist, who is passionate about body politics. Mia is especially interested in the ways that anti-fat bias and sizeism intersect with other forms of oppression (i.e. sexism, racism, ableism, classism). She enjoys learning, listening, and cuddling with her cats. In future, Mia plans to pursue a degree in visual arts therapy, combining her affinity for mental health and creative expression.

Cat Haines is a trans woman, lesbian, and currently the program coordinator at the UR Pride Centre for Sexuality and Gender Diversity. Understanding the complexities and nuances of gender is critical for anyone hoping to work with the trans community, or simply support the transgender people their their lives. Through a series of open discussions and journaling exercises, this workshop seeks to help you better understand your personal relationship to gender, as well as provide a glimpse into the ongoing labour that is expected of many transgender individuals in order to access healthcare, and in many cases, basic human dignity.

*UPDATE: we are no longer able to provide ASL interpretation as planned for this session, due to our interpreter sustaining an injury. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We will work to provide more opportunities for this in the future*

This multi-faith panel will feature perspectives on social, environmental, and global justice through the lens of faith and religious practice. We present this panel in conjunction with Common Weal Community Arts to question the assumptions that religion is inherently regressive or conservative and have invited Christian, Muslim, and Sikh community members to discuss how their faith informs their justice work, how faith contributes to self care and community care, and how activists and organizers can better work across faith communities to foster solidarity and build inclusive movements.

6:00pm – RPIRG January Social w/ Neeched Up Games

RPIRG and Janelle Pewapsconias of Neeched Up Games will be hosting a human sized board game! Neeched Up Games provides Indigenous knowledge board games, card games, apps, and educational resources to empower people in Indigenous culture! Through games and engaging discussion we can overcome discrimination and misinformation by challenging it utilizing our knowledge of Indigenous culture, history, and perspectives.
This event is FREE, however, we do ask that you take a moment to register here!

Saturday January 20th

9:00am – “Mapping Line 3” w/ Barb Lavallee

Line 3 is a proposed Enbridge crude oil pipeline that plans to stretch from Alberta to Wisconsin, passing through Saskatchewan. It is a contentious pipeline in that is currently being met with resistance for several important reasons from many Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, as well as environmental activists and organizations in areas all along the pipeline route.

Barbara Lavallee is an Independent Heritage Compliance Monitor. She focuses on environmental sustainability by bridging the gap of Western science and traditional ecological knowledge. Barbara is a Traditional Knowledge Keeper from Cowessess First Nation, residing on Piapot First Nation. To gain better context and language surrounding Line 3, Barbara Lavallee will outline common industry language, pipeline approval processes and government involvement, ways local communities will be affected, and threats to the local watershed as well as cultural and sacred Indigenous sites. The last part of the workshop will highlight ongoing resistance efforts, and provide participants with resources and ideas about how they can learn more and plug into what’s going on.

FREE LUNCH PROVIDED

Ivan Muzychka, who has over 25 years communications experience, much of it in media relations. He is currently a senior communications advisor with the Saskatchewan Medical Association. Speaking to media representatives can be an anxiety-inducing experience for many leaders. However, communicating through the media is sometimes the best way to connect with your key stakeholders and others, provided the encounter is handled carefully. This session will introduce participants to the basics of media relations, and will cover some basic pointers for doing successful media interviews. The session includes several practice TV interviews based on actual issues you and your organization may be facing.

In 2017, a collaborative investigative journalism project dominated news cycles to ask us, what is the real price of Saskatchewan’s oil industry? Out of that project, the film ‘Crude Power’ was produced to “shine a light on the oil industries substantial influence on government policy and reveal who benefits and who is hurt”. Janelle and Katie Doke Sawatzky, U of R Journalism students who worked on this project, will talk about investigative journalism, speaking truth to power, and how student initiative and hard work can have huge impacts on our community.

The 11th annual Apathy Into Action social justice conference is taking place JANUARY 19th and 20th!

We want to know what YOU want to see and learn. We are looking for workshops and interactive discussion topics that can be covered in 1, 3, or 6 hours.

You can either 1) submit a topic YOU would like to present on or facilitate a workshop for, OR 2) submit a topic you would like us to plan with another presenter or facilitator. It’s up to you! If you would like to facilitate, you will have to give us some extra information about you.

Join RPIRG in welcoming feminist pornographer Kate Sinclaire to the U of R campus! Kate will be facilitating two of her wonderful workshops (detailed below) on November 10th on the U of R Main Campus.

ALSO, make sure to join our partners Queer City Cinema for their Porn Party on November 9th at the Artesian on 13th. More info on the Facebook event:https://www.facebook.com/events/543515759331204/
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10:30am-11:30am – Education Building room 338

DESCRIPTION: Mainstream pornography often relies upon a structured approach that assigns a narrative to performers rather than allowing them to document their own stories on film. The result can definitely be hot, but can also be problematic. In this session, we will discuss how porn has gotten to a place of representation through fetishization, and ways that we can make the industry more fair, equitable, and truly represenational.
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1:30-2:30pm – Education Building room 113

HOW CAN PORN BE ETHICALLY MADE?

DESCRIPTION: In this session, we will run through a quick history of pornography, and look at the forces that have created the types of porn that we see today. From early photographs, Super 8 cameras, and all the way up to webcams and iPhones, we’ll talk about accessibility, queer narratives, patriarchal influences, the male gaze, and sex work myths. From there we’ll explore ways that feminist pornographers and performers today are turning the industry on its head.
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ALL WORKSHOPS ARE FREE and open to the public.
All rooms are physically accessibly by wheelchair.
All gender and wheelchair accessible washrooms are located in this building.
Parking available at meters at cost to participant ($2.00/hour).